NewZealand's Financial Markets Authority (FMA) issued a warning Tuesday about aphone-based investment scam that uses fake economic surveys to target victimsbefore directing them to fraudulent trading platforms, including CFDs.New Zealand RegulatorsFlag Nine Fake Investment Platforms in Phone Scam WarningTheregulator flagged nine specific platforms and websites that scammers are usingto steal money from New Zealanders, including Barox International, AlpenPartners International, and Luminary FX.Here's howthe fraud works: Victims first get a call asking them to participate in whatseems like a legitimate survey about confidence in New Zealand's economy. Thescammers use these initial conversations to collect personal details abouttheir targets.Days orweeks later, the same fraudsters call back from different phone numbers withwhat they pitch as exciting investment opportunities. They often soundprofessional and knowledgeable about financial markets, which helps convincepeople to hand over money.“Thescammers will eventually direct the victim to an online trading platform wherethey can invest money. Such trading platforms are fake,” the FMA explained inthe newest warnings. Theseplatforms are completely fraudulent, but the criminals know enough about NewZealand's banking systems to walk people through making their first deposits. Problemsarise when investors try to get their money back. The fakeplatforms either don't return any funds or demand additional fees and paymentsto release the money. Even when victims pay these extra charges, they never seetheir original investment again.Related: Five Tiny Trades, One Massive Fine After Long InvestigationFMA Recommends “ExtremeCaution”The FMA istelling New Zealanders to be extremely careful about unsolicited calls ormessages promoting financial products. The regulator recommends checking theFinancial Service Providers Register to verify whether any company is actuallylicensed to offer investment services in the country.Completelist of flagged platforms:AlpenPartners International (alpenpartners.com)Atadel Fund(atadelfund.com)BaroxInternational (baroxinternational.com)CliffAssociates (cliffassociates.com)InvestmentCorb (investcorb.com)Luminary FX(luminaryfx.pro)Primo AssetManagement (primoam.com)RoyalAmeris (royalameris.com)SilverArrow Wealth Management (silver-arrow-wealth-management.ch)The FMAwarns that people should "be suspicious of any phone 'surveys' askingabout the economy or investments" since these could be the first step inthe scam. All nine platforms were added to the regulator's warning list on July9, 2025.The FMA remains active in combating investment fraud. In February, the regulator identified around 100 fraudulent trading platforms, including clones of well-known brokers such as ATFX, IG, and Saxo. Zapytaj ChatGPT Select 70 more words to run Humanizer.This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.